This happened to me in my late teens. I live in the middle of nowhere. There wasn’t much to do in my hometown which led a lot of us to get into drugs. Where we grew up there were 3 paths. Go to college and get out of there, which was unrealistic as no one could afford it. This meant there were really only 2 paths. Join the cult, or join the rest of the dregs and derelicts. Before anyone asks this cult was one of those weird neo-christian super churches. They had this big compound further up the mountains with big white buildings all fenced in. Not too much is known about their beliefs but most of the old people in town belong to it and they’re all real creeps. Anyway no one wanted to be a productive member of our community so we all fell into this cycle of degradation. Its kind of comforting, to live for nothing. But this experience is what caused me to turn my life around.
So most of us went on these huge benders for days at a time, camping out in the woods away from prying eyes. Imagine a hippie commune but for much harder drugs and an extreme deficit of “ good vibes”. Anyway that location itself was a big clearing we used as a campsite. Derelict RVs and small structures littered the area. Everything was vandalized and the ground was essentially a landfill. Full of discarded clothes, bottles, cans, assorted paraphernalia and a menagerie of unmentionable detritus. In a thousand years it would be quite the archaeological survey. Anyways, this particular story happened at the end particularly bad relapse, just when I was starting to get it together again.
I arrived at the location to find it somewhat quiet. It was early autumn and the casual crowd had left, giving way to only the most devoted participants. From the moment I arrived I had this sick feeling. The feeling that something terrible was about to happen. This grim feeling lingering over me is probably what kept me alive in the long run. I didn’t partake in the festivities as much as I planned to. The bad vibes turned potential self destruction into self reflection. I still drank with the others. Deeper into the night I recall shambling out into the forest to piss. As I walked past the tree line for some privacy I noticed something half buried in the leaf litter. I kneeled staring at it for a good minute trying to discern what I was observing. Like a puzzle it fell into place as I realized I was looking at the partial leathery remains of a person. I stumbled back in disgust. This had been known to happen on occasion and I was upset at the concept of a bunch of complacent apathetic users dragging someone overdosing into the forest. I wanted to leave. I never wanted to change my life more than in that moment.
This feeling passed and I returned to the drink. I remembered getting upset with my friends and just being moody and depressed. I was deemed and honorary party pooper and at some point someone slipped me something, either to make things more interesting or to just knock me out. I remember stumbling to the end of the clearing before falling to my hands and knees. I woke up in a daze staring towards the campsite. watching something moving around, my vision was too blurry to see clearly. As my vision returned I saw It. It was this large vaguely human shape. I couldn’t see a definitive number of limbs but My guess is many. Have you ever had eye floaters? where its a vague shape in your vision you cant focus on ? This is how this being appeared. Even now in my memories its just a gray smudge. At least as tall as a person and its limbs were long, about the length of its body. I tried to move and the moment I did the things head craned around to scan the landscape. When its gaze passed me I physically felt it, Like a heavy weight on my head It caused me to pass out again.
I awoke to the monochrome twilight dawn. That time of morning where you can see but theres no color or sunlights visible yet. I was freezing. Remembering now I think being so cold is what stopped It from detecting me. My body concealed amongst the leaf litter and I probably had bad circulation, honestly, under normal circumstances I’d consider it lucky to survive this. I peeled my aching body from the frozen soil. I approached the campsite. Two smells hit me the first was blood, like roadkill left out but not white decomposing yet, That palpable smell you can almost taste. The second scent was much more interesting. A sharp chemical scent similar to vinegar stung my nostrils.
I saw the first body laying just outside the ring of small structures. Twisted unnaturally with bright bone protruding the otherwise dark form. I couldn’t bring myself to examine or identify them specifically. I did count them though and I was to only one left. They’re bodies littered the camp site. All of them twisted and pulled in odd directions like how a child would play with their toys. I found the source of the blood. One girl was laying in front of me arms stiffly reaching up. The other half of her lay crushed against the side of the RV 30 feet away. I threw up as I searched everyones pockets, trying my hardest to avoid eye contact. Tears streaked down my face as lifted the keys out of a torn jacket. Examining the site one last time I saw there were no signs of a struggle. Its like this thing just did this to them one by one and none of them tried to escape. The second thing I noticed is how everything was covered in the black film. It was like in texture and the surface of it had that sort of holographic reflection.
I got into the truck we arrived in and left. I remember feeling guilty when I realized what i was about to do. I dumped the truck somewhere in the side if the road and I never told anyone. I got clean. I became a family man in this small community. Recently this story came up in therapy as I remembered it again. Until then it never stuck out, it was just a drop in an ocean of hazy memories. I keep seeing the thing in my mind. I dont think I was supposed to remember it. I keep seeing its hazy form everywhere I go, not literally but everything reminds me of it.
The reason Im posting this Isn’t to ask for forgiveness or because I feel guilty and had to get it off my chest. It’s because last night I awoke to that sour invasive smell. My eyes shot open instantly recognizing it. My vision was blurry but upon rubbing my eyes I realized there was nothing wrong with my eyes. And I was staring Into its foggy face once again. The weight of its stare put me to sleep. I cant run this time. I have a wife and daughter. I dont have all the answers, I dont know why it didn’t hurt them or me, I dont know what it wants. Ill post updates when I can.